Refrigerator car



Jan. l2, 1943. c. D. BoNsALL REFRIGERATOR GAB 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 2l l uw. M.

Jan. 12,1943. c. D. BONSALL 2,307,988

HEFRIGERATOR GAR Filed April 21, 1941 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented .'Ian. 12, 1943 Q RFRIGERATOR CAR Charles D. Bonsall, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Standard Railway Devices Company, a corporation of Delaware Application April 21, 1941, Serial No. 389,529

Claims.

`'I'his invention relates to combined ventilator and refrigerator cars used to transportperishable commodities at a predetermined temperature. The essential features of a refrigerator car are an insulated body to prevent or retard ingress of heatv during warm weather and egress of heat during cold weather and a cooling means, a heating means and a Ventilating means' to'be used according to prevailing Weather conditions.

This. invention applies particularly to cars.h in which the cooling means, preferably containers for water ice, eutectic ice, brineor Idry ice,` are disposed immediately below the roof of the car. The lading is supported in spaced relation to the floor by a foraminous rack. Flues, preferably associated with the side walls of the car, communi.- cate between the cooling means and the space under the oor rack to provide a pathfor the circulation of air. The path is from the cooling means downwardly through the aforementioned ues, through the space under the door rack, upwardly through the lading compartment, thereby cooling the lading, and finally to the cooling means from where the cycle is repeated.

Many commodities, such as potatoes and melons, can be transported safely at any temperature within a relatively Wide range and, therefore, do not require either heating or refrigeration at certain seasons of the year. Some cornmodities, including many types of fresh fruits and vegetables, give off heat of respiration during the ripening thereof. In either 0f these cases it is desirable to circulate fresh air from outside the car in close contact with the commodity to carry away the heat of respiration, thereby preventing excessively high temperatures with consequent spoilage. Ventilated box cars are sometimes used for this purpose, particularly in the southern part of the country. A car also commonly used is a combination refrigerator, heater and ventilator.

It is an object of this invention to provide a car equipped with refrigerating facilities ofthe overhead bunker type and which may be used when desired to ventilate or supply fresh air to.

the lading space of the car without making any changes in the structure thereof. A further object is to provide facilities for Ventilating the car in such a manner that the ventilation facilities do not effect the eiliciency of the refrigeration of the car and vice versa.

Another object of the invention is to provide a refrigerant container having an imperforate lower part for the retention of liquid refrigerantand4 aforaminous upperpart to allow ventilating air to. enter the lading compartment of the car which air enters the car by flowing through the hatch openings from the exterior of the car.

Al further object is to provide the above mentioned foraminous part near the hatch opening to facilitate the. ow of Ventilating air and to make the parts of the walls and top of the container adjacent the. ends thereof (remote from the hatch. opening) imperforate.- When a refrigerator car is in service, the refrigerant surges iongitudinally of the car and splashes againstv the end walls of'the containers. By providing imperforate Walls and top for the container adjacent the ends thereof, I prevent liquid which is deflected by the end walls from splashing; out ofthe container.

In a container as described above wherein the upper part is foraminous and the lower part is imperforate, I provide a substantially horizontal splash plate` disposed at the juncture of the foraminous and imperforate parts and disposed partly within the container and partly Without the container. The part Within the container prevents upwardly surging refrigerant from splashing through the foraminous part; and an upstanding flange on the part of the plate-disposed outside the container retains liquid which passes through the forarninous part and drains such liquid back into the container Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following detailed description by referring to the accompanying v drawings.

Inthe drawings:

Fig. 1 is a transverse section through a refrigerator car embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of` the container shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3; is a section through the container, as shown by line 3-3 in Fig. l.

Fig. 4'is a View similar to a portion of` Fig. 1 showing a modified construction.

The general parts of the refrigerator car shown in Fig. l are insulated roof A; side walls B; floor D; refrigerant containers E; hatch F for'loading refrigerantV into one of the containers E; side wall flues G; foraminous floor rack H and space J between the rack H and the floor D. Arrefrigerant container E is positioned directly below the roofA and preferably adjacent each side Wall B. A drip pan K is provided below .the container Ek and a partition L is disposed in an upstandng position at the edge of the drip pan K. The drip pan K and the partition L cooperate with the roof A and the upper part of the side wall B to form an enclosure M around the container E, an air inlet opening N to the enclosure M being provided by spacing the partition L from the roof A. An air discharge opening P leads from the enclosure M to the flue G at a lower elevation than the air inlet opening N. Cars of this type commonly have a row of refrigerant containers E near each side wall B, which containers are spaced apart at the center of the car. The partitions L are also spaced apart to form a duct Q which communicates between the lading compartment R and openings N. Y

Air circulation is as follows: Air in the lading compartment R is warmed by contact with the lading and rises through the duct Q to enter the enclosing structures M through the air inlet openings N. The air is then cooled by contact with the cold refrigerant containers E or the refrigerant therein and falls by reason of its lower temperature and therefore greater density through the discharge openings P and flues Gl to the space J whence it rises through the rack H to the lading compartment R. The above described cycle is thereafter continuously repeated.

Vthe transverse stiffeners 6 and be confined within and closely adjacent the upstanding stiffeners 8. Said sheet may be secured to the frame-work 3 by means of rivets I4 which secure the lower parts Il of the side walls of the container to the upstanding stiffeners 8. The end walls l5 of the container E are also imperforate and are diaphragm shape members arranged with. their flanges I1 projecting outwardly and secured natwise to the bottom 9 and the lower parts l l oi the side walls of the container. The lower parts Il of the side walls are formed with substantially horizontal, outwardly projecting reflanges Hi on the upper edges thereof. The bottom 9 of the container E has secured thereto an upstanding, longitudinally extending, inverted channel shaped member which functions both as a reinforcement for the bottom of the container and as a baille toretard surging of the refrigerant from side to side of the container.

Spaced apart carlines extend between and are secured at their opposite ends to the side walls B of the car. The container E is supported by brackets 25 attached to the carlines 25 and to the end portions of the longitudinally extending stiifeners 5.

The upper part 3i) of the container E includes longitudinally extending, spaced apart, substantially horizontal splash plates 3l, 33. Spaced apart inverted U-shape stiffeners 3d extend between and are secured, preferably by welding, to the splash plates 3|, 33 and the splash plates 3l, 33 are secured flatwise to the reilanges i3 by any convenient means, preferably by the removable bolts 36 illustrated. The refrigerant container E has an opening 3l in the top thereof aligned with the hatch F, which opening 3'! is included between certain (G0) of the U-.shape stieners 34 and between secondary frame members 39 extending between. said certain stiffeners do. The portion of the upper part 30 of the container adjacent each end wall l5 thereof consiste of an imperforate plate 42 provided with depending flanges 43 secured to the reiianges I8 of the lower parts il of the side walls, preferably by a removable means, as hereinbefore described.

The central portion 48 of ,the upper part 30 of the container E, that is, the portion included between the imperforate end portions 42, is comprised of foraminous material, such as expanded metal, wire netting or perforated plate secured to the U-shap-e stiffeners 34, secondary framing members 39 and splash plates 3 l 33.

When the car is operated under ventilation, air from outside the car iiows inwardly through the hatch F, through the foraminous upper part 48 of the container E and downwardly through the duct Q to the lading compartment R. When there is liquid in the. container E, which liquid may be the refrigerant used during refrigeration of the car or a residual liquid remaining during ventilation, such liquid splashes against the end walls l5 of the container E and resplashes against the imperforate top (2) and side (43) portions adjacent the end walls l5 of the container. AAs the liquid at the centerA portion of thecontainer E surges sidewise of the car, it is deflected downwardly into the container by the horizontal splash plates 3i, 33 which extend into the container thereby preventing loss of liquid through the forarnincus upper portion 48. The upstanding flange 553 on the splash plate 33 provides means to prevent escape of liquid which finds its way upon the upper surface of the splash plate 33.

The refrigerant container E is provided with one or more apertures 55 located at a predetermined distance above the bottom 9 of the container so that liquid is overiiowed from the container when such liquid reaches a depth equal to the height of the apertures 55 above the bottorn il. A hood 5S is provided to prevent splashing of such overilowed liquid into the lading compartment R of the car` As the liquid overflows from the container E, it accompanies the circulating air through the passage 58 below the container E. and downwardly through the side wall iiue G, thereby further cooling and humidifying the circulating air.

In the modification shown in Fig'. 4, the splash plate @5 is'provided with a depending flange 66 within the container and in spaced relation to the side wall Eli thereof. Such depending flange 66 functions to further retard the surging of the liquid and reduces the tendency to escape through the foraminous upper part 69 of the container. The splash plate Y3! which isprovided on the side of the container adjacent the side-wall of the car (see Fig. l) may be provided with a depending clangesuch as theV flange 56` shown in Fig. 4; also, if desired, yan upstanding flange such as the ange 56 shown on the splash plate 33 in Fig. 1 may be provided. The upstanding (50) and depending (E56) flanges, 'as well as the plates 3i, '33 are provided preferably adjacent theforaminous portions l of the upper'part or"Y the container and are unnecessary adjacent the irnperforate end portions 42. Y

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention,l though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the'exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obviousthat various modications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerator car having a roof and a hatch in said roof, a refrigerant container below said hatch, said container comprising a top, bottom and spaced apart side and end walls, said bottom and the lower parts of said walls being substantially imperforate, said top and the upper parts of said side walls being imperforate adjacent said end walls and foraminous remote from said end Walls, said top having an opening aligned with said hatch for loading refrigerant into the container.

2. In a refrigerator car having a roof and a hatch in said roof, a refrigerant container below said hatch, said container comprising a top, bottom and spaced apart side and end walls, said bottom and the lower parts of said walls being substantially imperforate, the upper parts of said side walls being imperforate adjacent said end walls and foraminous remote from said end walls, said top having an opening aligned with said hatch for loading refrigerant into the container.

3. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, a refrigerant container above the lading compartment, and means to support said container, said container having a bottom and substantially vertical Walls, certain of said walls having an imperforate lower part and a foraminous upper part and a substantially horizontal splash plate extending from the interior to the exterior of said container substantially between said parts.

4. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, a refrigerant container above the lading compartment, and means to support said container, said container having a bottom and substantially vertical walls, certain of said walls having an imperforate lower part and a foraminous upper part and a substantially horizontal splash plate extending from the interior to the exterior of said container substantially between said parts, said plate having an upstanding flange disposed in spaced relation to the last mentioned wall exterior of the container.

5. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, a refrigerant container above the lading compartment, and means to support said container, said container having a bottom and substantially vertical walls, certain of said walls having an imperforate lower part and a foraminous upper part and a substantially horizontal splash plate extending from the interior to the exterior of said container substantially between said parts, said plate having an upstanding flange disposed in spaced relation to the last mentioned wall exterior of the container and a depending flange disposed in spaced relation to the last mentioned wall interior of the container and a plurality of reinforcing members for said top having depending parts secured to said plate.

6. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, a, refrigerant container above the lading compartment, and means to support said container, said container having a top, bottom and substantially vertical walls, certain of said walls having an imperforate lower part and a foraminous upper part, a substantially horizontal splash plate extending from the interior to the exterior of said container substantially between said parts, and a plurality of reinforcing members for said top having depending parts secured to said plate.

7. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, a refrigerant container above the lading compartment, and means to support said container, said container having a substantially vertical wall, a channel arranged so that a portion of said Wall forms the inner side of said channel, said portion of the wall being foraminous and the outer side of said channel being imperforate.

8. vA refrigerant container for use in a refrigerator car comprising a bottom and upstanding walls; at least one of said walls having an imperforate lower part and a foraminous upper` part and a substantially horizontal splash plate extending from the interior to the exterior of said container substantially at the juncture of said parts.

9. A refrigerant container for use in-a refrigerator car comprising a bottom and upstanding walls; at least one of said walls having an imperforate lower part and a foraminous upper part and a, substantially horizontal splash plate extending from the interior to the exterior of said container substantially at the juncture of said parts, said plate having an upstanding flange exterior of said container in spaced relation to said last mentioned wall.

10. A refrigerant container for use in a refrigerator car comprising a top, bottom and spaced apart side and end walls, said end walls being imperforate, said bottom and the lower parts of said side walls being imperforate, said top and the upper parts of said side walls being imperforate adjacent said end Walls and foraminous remote from said end walls, said top having an opening for loading refrigerant into the container.

CHARLES D. BONSALL. 

